Henry Blodget Says that Thinking Twitter was the next Facebook was Absurd

Business Insider founder Henry Blodget says that the idea investors got that Twitter was going to be the next Facebook was absurd. “But I do think that the big problem with Twitter was expectations just got absurdly out of whack a few years ago,” Blodget said. “People thought, oh, it’s the next Facebook. It was always actually this niche product.”

Henry Blodget, founder, and CEO of BusinessInsider reflected on Twitter during a CNBC interview earlier today:

Eventually, the size of the user base and the engagement matters a lot because it’s a leading indicator of how much revenue they can generate from it. But I do think that the big problem with Twitter was expectations just got absurdly out of whack a few years ago. People thought, oh, it’s the next Facebook. It was always actually this niche product.

The good news for Twitter is there’s nothing else that does what it does. If you are into the news it is the best way to follow the news and there is always going to be a segment of the population that is totally into that. Twitter is great for that, so I do think they still have a defensible position.

They actually have a lot more cleaning up and reducing to do. Twitter is a tough platform, to be honest. It is often unpleasant. I think there are a lot of arguments to make that they would be much better off if they forced folks to go to their real names, where you actually had to comment on your own name. You could do that and see a big reduction. But as long as that core userbase of people who are addicted to it, and there’s still a lot of people there, then I think they do have a good business.